Southport and Ainsdale Bowl proves tough ask after course extended
James Holland collected the S&A Bowl for the second time in five years as he was the only member of 77-strong field who broke par.
FORMAT: 36-hole stroke play
Holland, who is the eldest of five brothers who are all members at S&A, finished three clear of Manchester’s Aiden Hooson and was cheered on by his grandparents, dad and little brother as home players dominated the fifth Northern Order of Merit event on Saturday.
Four of the top six came from S&A with Joshua Ashton (3rd), Mark Duncalf (5th) and former pro Paul Howard (6th) all going close. Local knowledge certainly was key with eight new ‘black’ tees in operation, pushing the course yardage to almost 7,000.
For Holland, the win was especially sweet as it set up his victory in the Lancashire Links Open and came off the back of some decent form.
The 22-year-old said: “I was playing quite nice all through winter but then I got Covid quite badly in April and it went off a bit.
“Today I played nice though and, I suppose, played like I do with my brothers and tried to enjoy it.”
Holland opened with a two-under par 70 to lead at halfway by one from Duncalf and two from Greg Holmes (Royal Birkdale), Thomas Ibbertson (Coventry Hearsall) and his little brother George.
And the key to his success was keeping it on the short stuff.
“Now the rough is coming up you have to keep it in play,” added Holland.
The plus two handicapper didn’t make the best of starts and was two over thru five but a superb birdie at six kickstarted things for him as he put an eight iron to 16 feet and sank it.
He got back to level at the par five next, lipping out for eagle having hit a “lovely” five iron to 16 feet.
He also cashed in on the ‘easier’ 12th and 13th to get two up.
“Getting those was really important because the finish is so tough,” added Holland. “At halfway I obviously knew I was in contention and tried to keep calm and think about other things.”
An unfortunate plug in the bunker at the par three first was not the start he wanted but he quickly steadied the ship by holing out from 25 feet for a birdie at the third.
He maintained his momentum superbly a with a glut of pars and in the end was well clear of Hooson, who had the best round in the afternoon (71).